Of Moose and Man.....and a wife

[The emperor has no clothes]

http://www.adn.com/article/20151129/when-moose-and-motorcycle-collide-alaska-road
For those of you who haven't had a chance to see a moose up close and personal, take it from me they can get BIG. I've never had a close call on the bike but have had several in a vehicle and snow machines .

[Hook#3287]

Good story Rob, she's a good writer.

Them Moose's are scary

Seen one up in Northern Vermont once while cruising up I-91.

She crossed the 3 lanes I was on in about 3 steps, down hill into a gully that was the median, up the other side of the gully and jumped the other 3 lanes.

It's amazing how they can just go thru the brush with ease.

On the Kancamagus Highway in New Hampshire one year, we were turned around by the authorities.  Apparently, a moose and a biker collided.  Niether made it.

[DirtyDan]

Moose in Alaska



check

dan

[The emperor has no clothes]

Good story Rob, she's a good writer.

Them Moose's are scary

Seen one up in Northern Vermont once while cruising up I-91.

She crossed the 3 lanes I was on in about 3 steps, down hill into a gully that was the median, up the other side of the gully and jumped the other 3 lanes.

It's amazing how they can just go thru the brush with ease.

On the Kancamagus Highway in New Hampshire one year, we were turned around by the authorities.  Apparently, a moose and a biker collided.  Niether made it.

Bill, what's even more amazing about them is they can sneak away from you in heavy brush like a ghost. A memory that has stuck with me was a girl in my High School hit one in a small sedan at 65 mph and it crushed in the entire top of the car and killed her instantly.

[John Schmidt]

When I was stationed at Loring AFB in northern Maine, one of the methods used to earn extra $$ was to  go pick potatoes when in season. Backbreaking work but gave you some badly needed extra money. The Canadians would come south by the truckload and outpick all of us. One year, I had befriended one crazy young guy and his family. He and his wife took turns carrying a newborn on their back while bending over to pick the spuds. During the lunch break one day there was a sudden flurry of action, they had spotted a moose. A half dozen men jumped in their old beat up truck and took off after it, going across the furrows at times with the guys in back flying up & down. The crazy one I knew climbed on the side of the bed and literally jumped on the back of that huge animal while it was in full stride, grabbed it by the ears and plunged a knife in his neck. He jumped off and the moose went another 20-30 yds. and dropped to its knees, then slowly rolled over and died. They had that thing strung up, gutted, skinned and carved up in time to go back to work when lunch hour was over. They all shared in the meat from it, kept 3-4 families in meat for quite a while. Those guys weren't allowed any firearms to come across the border, but they all carried 2-3 knives. Sometimes for a little action during lunch they'd have a knife throwing contest. The day of the kill, I watched my crazy friend cut off one of the ears, pin it to a tree, then hit it three times in a row with a knife thrown from about 25'. Told me he practiced nearly every day for at least an hour, said you never know when your gun will jam. Wild memory.

[Jess from VA]

You want to be careful taking a dump in the woods too.  These boys don't seem to be all that particular.

[cookiedough]

Was up some near 20 years ago in the boundary waters around Ely MN area looking for those critters walking miles into the woods.  Never seen one, but when I stopped to get gas up there the owner lady said you don't want to hit one.  She said 2 separate incidents in one fricking week she said totalled both their vehicles with a moose coming down alongside the hill, stepping on the hood, crushing the engine/front end, and totalling both vehicles, while the moose just walked away like nothing happened. 

How lucky is that?  Twice in one week.  If it wasn't for bad luck, they would have no luck at all. 

[0leman]

While I live in Wyoming, I was hunting elk.  Snow was nearly 2' deep, so I was walking around on Trailer type snowshoes, ones that are about 5' long and a foot wide.   I was going around a patch of fir when I encountered my first moose up close.  Really close.  She was about 15' away munching  along her side was her calf.   She did look up at me, staring at me eye to eye.   Since I am standing on 2' of snow and am well over 6' tall, that impressive.  I very slowly click off the safety on my rifle and started backing up.   Backing up on snowshoes is difficult, trailer type are even more of a problem.   All the while I was telling miss moose how nice she looked in a low quiet voice. 

She continued eating and I went off to find an elk, and yes one was in my truck by the end of the day.

[Alpha Dog]

When I was stationed at Loring AFB in northern Maine, one of the methods used to earn extra $$ was to  go pick potatoes when in season. Backbreaking work but gave you some badly needed extra money. The Canadians would come south by the truckload and outpick all of us. One year, I had befriended one crazy young guy and his family. He and his wife took turns carrying a newborn on their back while bending over to pick the spuds. During the lunch break one day there was a sudden flurry of action, they had spotted a moose. A half dozen men jumped in their old beat up truck and took off after it, going across the furrows at times with the guys in back flying up & down. The crazy one I knew climbed on the side of the bed and literally jumped on the back of that huge animal while it was in full stride, grabbed it by the ears and plunged a knife in his neck. He jumped off and the moose went another 20-30 yds. and dropped to its knees, then slowly rolled over and died. They had that thing strung up, gutted, skinned and carved up in time to go back to work when lunch hour was over. They all shared in the meat from it, kept 3-4 families in meat for quite a while. Those guys weren't allowed any firearms to come across the border, but they all carried 2-3 knives. Sometimes for a little action during lunch they'd have a knife throwing contest. The day of the kill, I watched my crazy friend cut off one of the ears, pin it to a tree, then hit it three times in a row with a knife thrown from about 25'. Told me he practiced nearly every day for at least an hour, said you never know when your gun will jam. Wild memory.

Now this is one of the more fantastic stories I have heard in quite a while.  We never had any moose in Michigan growing up, guess there are some now, elk anyway.  My only adventures with a moose was my favorite cartoon growing up  Rocky and Bullwinkle.
Chuck

[firea100]

Rocky and Bullwinkle were from Canada, if I'm not mistaken!!!

I stand corrected, Frostbite Falls Minn.

Dudley Dooright was from Canada!!

[Hook#3287]

Hey Rocky!!

Loved that show.

They don't make em like that anymore

John, that is an amazing story

[old2soon]

Wife one is from Willow Alaska. Went up there to get married in the winter. The next time we went to Alaska was in the summer. At the post office they had a young moose whose mother had been killed and were hand feeding it. The young un was quite friendly and I took a hand a feeding it. Wrapped my arms around it's neck as it was bent over and as I did the young un straightened up. Wife told me before I let go my feet were bout 3 feet above the ground. My ex F I L-R I P Alex-worked for the Alaska Highway Dept and told me they-moose-WILL mess up an 18 wheeler if the truck collides with a moose. While up there in Alaska I saw some cages and pickups that had close encounters of the worst kind with moose. REALLY effed them up. Can NOT even IMAGINE hitting one of those cursed things on a M/C.    RIDE SAFE.